Immortally Cursed
by chewpaful
Summary: What if Percy Jackson had taken the gods' offer to make him immortal? How would the world be different if he had left Camp Half Blood to become a god? Annabeth/Percy.
1. I Obtain and lose Golden Blood

**Summary: **What if Percy Jackson had taken the gods' offer to make him immortal? How would the world be different if he had left Camp Half Blood to become a god?

Disclaimer: I do not own this series.

* * *

Chapter 1: I Obtain (and lose) Golden Blood

* * *

This next section is in Percy's POV

* * *

At first, I could not believe what I was hearing. I was kind of busy staring at Annabeth, admiring her battle-scarred, yet beautiful, face. Sure, her clothes were kind of torn and burnt, her hair was messed up, but she still looked lovely to me.

We had just defeated Kronos (who was actually in Luke's body), and the Olympians had just returned to Olympus. My brother, Tyson, was named General of the Cyclopes. I would have paid to see the look on all the gods' faces when he asked for a "stick" as a weapon. Nonetheless, he was presented a finely made club.

As for Annabeth, she was named the official architect for the new Olympus. Her cheeks were still flushed from the excitement, and I could pretty much see gears turning in her head, already planning things.

Grover was given a spot in the Council of Cloven Elders, and he fainted on the spot. It was a life-long dream for him, and I was happy for my goat buddy (don't tell him I called him a goat).

Oh yeah. Anyways, back to what I was saying. I was pretty much blanked out as I walked up to my dad, expecting a pat on the shoulder for saving the world. But instead, I was asked to become an immortal so I could be my father's commander in chief.

It's as bogus as it sounds. Before, I was debating on whether or not to treat my fellow victors to ice cream or donuts, but now I had a bigger dilemma.

Hey kid! Thanks for saving the world! Now we'd like to turn you into a god to further mess up your life!

Great. I could become a god and be immortal forever, or stay a demigod and be happy with my friends. It was really tempting to say yes. I would never die. I would be with my father and I could smash Ares and the other gods I didn't like to pieces. Did I mention that I would be immortal?

_Immortality. _Wow. Just wow. I really wanted to say yes, but there was so much that I would leave behind. I couldn't just leave Annabeth behind. She would grow old and die, while I would live forever (unless Ares threw me into Tartarus). I was looking forward to getting to know her better after this war…

I couldn't leave Grover and the other campers behind either. I loved Camp Half Blood. It was my home away from home. There were so many good memories that I had there.

But if I accepted the gods' gift, I would be able to protect my friends better. Assuming my father let me venture down and play with my friends. That wouldn't be very commander-in-chief of me.

My mother probably wouldn't worry as much about me getting hurt if I were immortal as well.

This situation was looking very good.

"Well? Percy?" Poseidon prompted me for an answer.

"Uh," I stammered. Great gods this was hard. "Can I get back to you tomorrow?"

"You have another thirty seconds," Ares warned me, "otherwise we'll just give you a stick of cotton candy and a balloon."

Well that sounded better than deciding whether to be a god or not.

I looked back toward my friends. Grover was still on the ground, passed out, so he would be no help at all. Annabeth refused to meet my eye. I stared at her a little longer, and she looked up and I saw fear flash in her eyes. But the look hardened and she glared back at me. I felt a pain in my chest and I had to look away. Believe me, if you've tried to stare Annabeth down, you'd have nightmares of people with gray eyes holding bloody knives.

I tried to catch her eye again, but she pointedly crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. I felt Athena's cold eyes trained on the back of my head. Like mother like daughter.

"Five seconds…" Ares grinned wickedly. "Last chance. If you accept our gift, you'll be beaten to a pulp by me every day. Isn't that great?"

"Wonderful," I muttered. He wasn't really helping.

In the corner next to Hades, I saw three old ladies, the Fates, huddled near each other. I saw my life flash before my eyes. In my vision, a teenager was fighting monsters. The image changed to an older looking guy holding hands with a girl with blonde hair. The picture morphed again, and the two were dressed formally at a wedding. The couple aged, and they were now laughing happily with two kids bounding around them. The last scene showed the blonde girl, now an old woman with white hair, sitting on a bench sobbing and holding a picture of her husband. Beside her was a gravestone.

This was my life. Was I willing to give it up?

* * *

This next section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

"I can't believe he said yes!" I shouted as I ran out of the Empire State Building. "The fool! The nerve he has!"

"Hey, Annabeth, wait!" Grover bleated after me, his hooves clacking lightly against the pavement. "It's not his fault."

I whirled around and glared at Grover.

"U-uh. N-no. I-I meant it's his fault. Definitely his fault!" Grover stuttered.

"I can't believe he'd pick immortality over me!"

"Annabeth, you know he loves you very much."

Huh. Yeah right. "If he does, why isn't he running out after me? Why didn't he choose to stay mortal?"

"Well you did take your knife and stab him right after they turned him into a god…"

I glared at Grover. Ok, it was true. I lost my temper and drove my dagger straight into Percy's chest right after he was turned into a god. Golden ichor gushed out of the wound and I was disappointed that he didn't die right away.

Screw him. Screw Percy Jackson and his brain full of seaweed and nonsense. If he didn't want me in his life, then I would ignore him as well. I didn't need him.

"Uh. Annabeth," Grover called after me uncertainly. I was on the other side of the street and Grover was still lingering around the edge of the Empire State Building.

"You can stay with your beloved god, Percy Jackson. _I'm _going to go look for campers that might be hurt." With a huff, I stomped off away from Grover.

I wandered around until I found a tiny donut shop that had escaped damage from the battle. Inside, I saw Thalia, my friend who was a Hunter of Artemis, sitting alone eating a donut while drinking apple juice.

"Hey," I greeted her. I slid into the chair across from her and surveyed the store. The floor was dusty and cracked, and many of the lights had gone out. Yet, the store manager was up and about with business, even though Thalia and I were the only customers. The other mortals that had been in a deep sleep during the battle had woken up and were dazed at the destruction of their city. I wondered what silly story they would make up for this. Mortals could not see through the Mist, the silvery veil that separated our world from theirs. They could believe anything but the truth.

Thalia grunted a greeting at me and bit into her donut. Apollo had healed her legs that were crushed by the statue of Hera. For some reason, Hera had something against me. I didn't like her much either. She set intestinally challenged cows out after me. I had to be careful where I stepped.

I ordered a glazed donut and then looked through my pockets for ambrosia, the food of the gods. In small doses, it could heal demigods. If we ate too much of it, it could kill us.

"Want some ambrosia? I've got some in my pack," Thalia mumbled around a mouthful of food. She tossed a square at me and I bit a piece off. My wounds started to disappear slightly, and the aching from my left arm seemed to vanish.

"So what happened?" Thalia asked me. "I came out here to get some fresh air. I couldn't stand staying in the throne room. I think Hera was shooting daggers at me with her eyes." She sighed heavily. "Gods, I wonder what I did to make her mad."

"Well," I said hesitantly, trying to contain my anger. "Guess which god is now Poseidon's new commander-in-chief."

"Who?"

"Percy Jackson."

* * *

**Author's note:** :D Please review and comment if you have any suggestions. Thanks!


	2. Striking Back

Okay. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy :D

**Disclaimer**: I do not own this series.

* * *

Chapter 2: Striking Back

* * *

This section is in Percy's POV.

* * *

"Ow!"

"Ah," Ares smiled cheerfully at me, "I knew you were a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp!" I protested. "I thought being a god meant that there would be no pain when your best friend stabbed you in the chest."

Ares rolled his eyes at me. His eyeballs seriously looked like they were on fire. His iris changed colors every few seconds, from yellow, to red, to orange. "All gods feel pain. Once, I was battling this seriously huge Cyclops and-"

"Yeah, I get it, I get it…" I mumbled and watched as my now golden blood dripped out of a hole in my shirt. "Is it going to heal?"

"Yeah, we heal quickly," Ares responded with a nasty grin, "so I can smash you into a pulp and you'll come back just fine so I can do it again."

"Thanks, but I'll pass," I muttered. I had beaten Ares once, and I would be happy to do it again.

"Oh come on," Ares blocked my exit as I tried to walk away from him. "I'll make you a great deal. I get to beat you up five times a day on weekdays. And then on weekends I get to kill you. How does that sound?"

"No thanks. I like to stay healthy and untouched."

"As the god of war, I demand-"

"Hey!" I interrupted Ares. "What am I the god of?"

"Stupidness?"

Haha. I guess that was true. Annabeth always called me Seaweed Brain. Thinking about Annabeth made my chest feel tight and pained. I had no idea why I agreed to become a god. I guess she was really mad. No, that wasn't the word to describe her. Maybe an enraged hippo with a bladder problem. Trust me, you don't want to encounter one. Once I did and-

"Or maybe the god of rocks?" Ares suggested to me. "'Cause rocks do nothing and so do yo-"

"Do I get to pick what my, uh, cool super powers are?" I interrupted again. That was a bad idea. Ares looked ready to slice off my head with his sword.

"Interrupt me again and I'll throw you into the pits of Tartarus," Ares cautioned me.

"Uh, okay cool."

We stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. I finally spoke up. "So what about my question?"

"Hmph. Can't stay quiet, can you? Will you go away if I tell you?"

"Yeah." I didn't want to hang around with a war god with a temper as high as the Empire State building anyways.

"Well, we haven't made any new gods for a while, so I'm not sure. I think the Council decides." Ares said. "Now shoo."

"So I can't decide-"

"Remember our deal?" Ares casually unhooked a grenade from a military belt around his side.

"Totally. I'll be going now." I walked backwards slowly away from Ares, who smirked and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

Disappointed, I left the empty throne room to find my father. I wandered into a garden filled with smooth pebbles, exotic flowers, and strange purple birds.

"Caw?" A bird cocked its slender, violet-colored neck and stared questioningly at me.

"Oh hey bird. Have you seen my father?" I asked it stupidly. "Erm, not that you would know, I think. Uh. He's the big guy, fishing net on his shoulder, smells kind of like-"

"PERCY JACKSON!" A thundering voice roared behind me. The shiny purple bird took off in a series of "caws!" and fluttered away to another tree.

I turned around slowly, not sure what to expect. A goddess stood before me, donned in a pearly white cloth just like the ones priestesses used ages ago. A band of gold circled the top of her black hair and a small gray owl sat on her shoulder. Her gray eyes burned into mine, and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh hi Athena," I croaked to the goddess, my heart seemed to thump in my throat. "How may I help you?"

"Oh, there's plenty that you can do for me," Athena glared and beckoned me to come closer. I shifted gingerly toward the goddess, who seemed to be blazing with an angry aura around her. "Did you hurt my daughter?"

"Annabeth? What! No!" I protested. "I would never-"

"Then why is she in such a bad mood? She stormed out of Olympus and I know it has something to do with you."

"I didn't do anything!" I guiltily realized that it may have been my acceptance of the gods' gift that made her so angry. Athena seemed to read my thoughts.

"Why did you choose to become a god? Why didn't you stay with my daughter?"

"Why did you want me to become a god anyways? All of the gods hate me!" I shot back. Apparently my last encounters with the goddess of wisdom and warfare did me no good.

"How dare you talk back to me!" Athena's gray eyes blazed with fury. "I'm only going to say this once, if you touch, or even look at my daughter again, I will feed you to the dead and throw your remains down Tartarus. You are a foolish child. You dare hurt my daughter and then throw your words rashly at me. Percy Jackson, keep doing this and you _will_ make enemies."

She disappeared in a mist of gray. Great. Two death threats from two gods in one day. I missed Annabeth. I had made the wrong decision. The thought of being a powerful god was just too tempting. Most of the gods didn't like me, and I had lost Annabeth as well. If she was here, she'd probably, well, stab me, which she already did. Gods I was stupid. Ares was right. God of stupidness would fit me well. Why did I accept the gods' gift?

I turned on my heel and darted through the garden, startling many of the big purple birds roosting in the trees. I had to find my father. Maybe he'd understand. I found myself lost in the huge grounds of Olympus. I finally spotted a familiar flicker in a fireplace and sprinted over.

"Hestia," I kneeled down and saw the fiery, tiny little girl sitting among the flames. I had to squint to see her. She flickered every two seconds and was only the size of a finger. "Hestia, I need your help."

She took a step out of the flames and she suddenly changed into a familiar eight-year-old girl with mousy-brown hair and warm eyes. "Yes? Oh, and congratulations on your achievements."

"More like huge mistakes," I muttered.

"Saving Olympus was a mistake?" Hestia asked, her large brown eyes surprised.

"No, not that," I said quickly. "I meant becoming a god."

"Oh," Hestia looked at me warmly. "What would you like me to do?"

"I need to find my dad and ask him to turn me into a mortal again?"

"Why? I thought you wanted to be a god."

"I made a mistake and hurt Annabeth."

Hestia nodded with understanding. "Sometimes power may seem important when it really isn't. Love, friends, and warmth are much more special than power itself."

"So can you turn me back into a mortal?"

"Sadly, I can't," Hestia said. "It takes the whole council's agreement to do so, and even if they do, I wouldn't know how to undo the process anyways. Perhaps Zeus knows. Or Hades. I only know that gods can fade from existence when no one remembers or worships them, or when their realm is too small. Gods can survive from lack of worshiping if their will to live is strong."

"So, there's no way I can become a mortal again?" I confirmed.

"Not that I know of. I'm sorry." Hestia said sympathetically. "I can tell your where your father is right now. He's out by the shore checking his troops. He'll be back soon for your ceremony."

"Ceremony?"

"Oh yes, to decide what god you will be. They would have told you earlier when they made you into a god, but they were awfully busy trying to fix the damage caused by the battle."

"Do you know what I will be god of?"

"Oh yes, but I can't tell you," Hestia's eyes lit with excitement, "we've been sworn to secrecy."

Ares was a big fat liar. He said that he didn't know what I would be god of. I should have known not to trust him. Who knows what else he lied about?

"Sorry dear, you must excuse me. I have fireplaces and hearths to tend to. The heart of homes has also been damaged by this battle." Hestia burst into soft, cackling flames and I saw her wave goodbye to me from the fireplace and then disappear.

* * *

This next section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight: Percy's a god?" Thalia gaped at me disbelievingly.

"I wish you weren't correct," I huffed. "The stupid jerk abandoned me for immortality."

"Wow," Thalia said thoughtfully, twisting the skull bracelet that was around her wrist. "I never knew that he would do this."

"I guess I'm not that important to him anymore," I grumbled. I didn't want that to be true. I was scared that Percy didn't have feelings for me anymore. I was hoping that after the war, we would be able to get to know each other even better and maybe start a relationship… I had hope in a bright future together, but he had to spoil it by abandoning me. I was a fool to believe that he ever cared for me.

"Oh, don't say that, I'm pretty sure Percy still loves you," Thalia patted my hand and took another bite of her donut. "He just was too caught up in the moment to say no to the gods. You know how they are."

"He doesn't care for me." I said stubbornly. "He never did. He was just pretending to."

"Hey, I know love when I see it. Living as a pine tree for years teaches you a lot. I know Hunters of Artemis are forbidden to fall in love, but sometimes I wish I had a nice guy like Percy that had my back." Thalia blinked. "Wow, I'd never thought I'd say that. I take it all back. But seriously, you guys are meant for each other."

I prodded the remains of my donut and pushed it onto napkin. "It still doesn't change the fact that he's a god now."

"Maybe he's reconsidering it and will be a regular demigod again."

"Thalia, I don't think gods can undo the process of changing one into a god. I know gods can be forgotten and disappear forever but-"

"Oh come on. Gods can do anything. I'm pretty sure there's a way to change a god into a mortal."

I seriously doubted it, but my heart hoped that it was true and that I would somehow be able to convince Percy to become a mortal again. But then again, maybe he didn't love me. Maybe he pretended to care for me just for the heck of it. The jerk. He had torn my heart out and left me confused and scared as someone in Daedalus's labyrinth.

"Maybe you need someone new to keep your mind off of Percy," Thalia suggested. "It could make him jealous and want you back. Maybe you could have a god-demigod relationship."

"Hm. Maybe. Would you help me?" I didn't think Thalia would help me with the whole "no-relationships-with-boys" policy Artemis had.

"Well, I would, but you know Artemis. I would probably be sentenced to death if I even looked at a boy. Maybe ask one of the campers from the Aphrodite cabin," Thalia suggested.

The campers from the Aphrodite cabin were beautiful, but dense and clueless like a rock. But maybe relationships were their strong points. I could do anything involving academics, but when it came to social interactions, I would fail miserably.

"Okay," I agreed, "I'll give it a try." We finished our donuts and walked back out to the street, where mortals were still confused with the destruction of their city. An ambulance wailed in the distance. We had tried to get the mortals who were all cursed with sleep by the god Morpheus, but I guess some were hurt anyways.

"Listen," Thalia said when we had walked for a few minutes, "I gotta find my Hunters and report to Artemis. I sense a call from Artemis herself. It may be trouble."

I found it surprising how Thalia still stuck to her mostly black clothing even after becoming a Hunter. Most Hunters wore white, silvery clothing, but Thalia stuck with black leather jackets and skull and cross bones. I could see a soft, silvery aura around her that all Hunters had. It made Thalia seem a little less rough and more gentle, if that was even possible.

"Okay, I hope it's nothing serious," I replied to her.

"Yeah," Thalia said glumly, her young, immortal face depressed. "I really don't want to fight again after all this," she said, gesturing to the rubble around them. "Good luck with, you know, _revenge_." She grinned wickedly.

"It's not revenge!" I protested. Okay, maybe it was, but Percy deserved it.

"Sure," Thalia smiled at me. "Stay safe Annabeth, don't do anything stupid." Yeah. Like I would. That was Percy's job.

Thalia gave me one last wave and ran nimbly back in the direction of the Empire State building. I kicked a stone and it bounced across the street and clanged into a gutter. I'd never thought I was the kind of person to plot revenge, but then again, I'd never knew that Percy would leave me.

There's a first for everything.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading and please review and give me suggestions or comments. Thanks ;)


	3. Snails and Whatnot

Hey guys! So here's the next chapter. Enjoy :D

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 3: Snails and Whatnot

* * *

This section is in Percy's POV.

* * *

The throne room looked much bigger and elegant after the gods repaired everything. I was amazed by how they just flicked their hand and BAM- the floors were clean and shiny. Hera had taken "pity" on me and gave me a mop and a bucket of water to clean the bloody section were Kronos, aka Luke, had died. Yeah, the other gods could have easily cleaned the blood up themselves, but I guessed they liked to watch me do the dirty work. I had no idea how to use the powers I supposedly had.

"Dad," I complained after mopping the blood up for several minutes, "can you teach me that cool thing where I make the floor clean within seconds?"

Poseidon was sitting on his worn out leather swivel chair of a throne, his face still old with wrinkles. I guess his palace still hadn't been fixed yet. Annabeth once told me that gods were affected by how well their realm was doing. Since Poseidon left his undersea palace to help us, it had been destroyed, and he was feeling the effects by his age

"That's for you to find out," Poseidon told me strictly, with a glint in his eyes. "You're a smart kid. You'll figure it out."

Grumbling, I continued mopping the floor as Ares smirked nearby, fixing a broken statue of himself with a clap of his hands. Not fair.

Minutes later, I finished cleaning the section of the floor I was working on. Hera gave me a weird look and waved her hand at the mop and bucket, which disappeared. She then beckoned the other gods to sit down at their thrones. I walked over to my father and stood behind him, not sure what to do.

Hades didn't have a throne in Olympus, so he just concocted a huge, black metal throne next to Zeus and sat down in it.

Lightning flashed across the room as Zeus attempted to capture everyone's attention. "As you all know," he said gruffly, "we are here to honor and name Percy Jackson, a new god."

"Can we call him the god of snails?" Hades questioned. "He really reminds me of one."

Great. I'd been compared to a snail by a god.

"I agree," Ares remarked, "his brain is as slow as one."

The sky rumbled as Zeus grumbled. Or maybe he was chuckling. It's hard to tell with a god like him.

"If the subject agrees, then it shall-" Zeus started saying.

"No! I reject!" I said hastily. No way was I going to let Ares and Hades play around with me. This was too important.

"Then we shall go with our original plan," Zeus stated. The whole chamber of gods grumbled disdainfully, except my father, of course. He sat back with an amused look in his old, tired eyes.

"The subject, Percy Jackson, has done valiant-"

Ares fake-coughed.

"-deeds that make him honorable-"

Another cough from Ares. Athena fixed him a cold stare and then glared at me. Sheesh. What was their problem?

"-and thus, has been made a god due to his noble actions. Such actions include saving Olympus-"

There was a bunch of grumbling from the gods in the throne room. I guess they didn't like knowing that Olympus would have fell without the help of their children.

"-fighting monsters, and saving many demigods. However, due to inconvenient circumstances, the subject has not been given an assigned duty."

"It should be god of snails…" Hades muttered. Zeus shot him an electrifying look.

"We now acknowledge Percy Jackson and his noble deeds, and give him a title as a minor god, commander-in-chief to his father, Poseidon, god of the seas, tempests, and earthquakes. Percy Jackson, rise."

I was already standing, so I looked around awkwardly and walked over to Zeus, who got up and stood before the whole council.

"We honor your courageous and unselfish-"

Ares interrupted with a loud cough.

"-actions and therefore, name you as god of heroes, swordsmanship, and bravery, as well as lakes and rivers, and waves and tides. Your domain will be Camp Half Blood. Your weapon of choice will be…"

"Riptide?" I suggested, pulling out the pen and uncapping it.

Aphrodite sniffed her nose disdainfully. "Of all the weapons we could make you, you choose to use your own?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "It's helped me in a bunch of battles, and I can't bear to part from it."

"As you wish," Zeus agreed. "Your weapon of choice will be Riptide, and your sacred animal…?"

"A pegasus," I nodded, thinking fondly of Blackjack, my friend black pegasus.

"Interesting choice… Very well. Your sacred animal will be the Pegasus."

The whole council chanted unison, "Arise, Perseus Jackson, god of heroes, swordsmanship, and bravery, rivers and lakes, waves and tides. We welcome you, officially, as a minor god of the Greeks."

Before, when they had turned me physically into a god, I had only felt strength and power flow into me. But this was much different. A golden aura filled me, and I felt searing pain in my entire body. I felt like I had been tossed in a hurricane and was being trampled on by hippos. I could hear the clanging of swords over the roaring sound of waves beating against shore.

And then I passed out.

* * *

This next section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

Back at Camp Half Blood, I first visited the Big House to check on the injured. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. They mostly had minor bruises and cuts, but nothing too serious. I said hello to Chiron, our centaur director, and then made way to Cabin 10: the Aphrodite Cabin.

I usually avoided the cabin, but today was obviously an exception. The cabin was the most decorated of all the others in the Camp. A pink door donned the entrance, lace curtains and potted carnations were by the windows. Whenever the door or windows were opened, a thick smell of perfume could be smelt from a range of fifteen feet away. Yes, I checked.

I always stayed within fifteen feet away from the cabin, but today I crossed my imaginary border and knocked on the pink door. The Aphrodite kids did not like to put their beauty at risk, so it wasn't a surprise when most of them fought in the area least populated by monsters during the war.

"Lacy! Get the door! Someone's knocking," someone from inside the cabin said. There was a bunch of whispering. I waited patiently until a small girl with blonde hair opened the door and peered questioningly at me.

"How may I help you?" She asked.

"Can I come in and speak to any of you? Actually, speaking out here is fine, I really don't mind…" I rambled, not sure of what my plan was.

"Uhm…" Lacy looked inside and had a rapid conversation with one of the other campers. "Sorry," she turned back to me, "not right now." She started closing the door but I jammed my foot between the door frame and the door and leaned closer.

"This is really important," I said hurriedly. "I thought your cabin could help me with a problem."

"Sorry," Lacy repeated. "We're not very good at solving problems." She tried to close the door again, but I pushed back harder.

"It's not a math problem or anything. I have a boy problem," I confessed.

Lacy widened her eyes and whispered back to someone in her cabin. "Okay, you can come in."

The inner walls of the cabin were also pink, no surprise. The curtains and beds were pastel blue and green. Each camper had pictures of celebrities above their beds. I felt like I was a Barbie. Yuck.

A beautiful girl with dark hair and brown eyes was sitting on a large bed with a pink canopy above it. "Hi, I'm Drew Tanaka. You must be Annabeth." She smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll be able to help with your _little_ problem."

"Uh, yeah." I glanced suspiciously at the girl's happy smile. "Aren't you guys supposed to be grieving for Silena?" Silena had died earlier in battle, posing as Clarisse to get the Ares kids to help in the battle.

"Oh, yes," Drew looked down and bit her lip, "we're all _very_ saddened by her death."

It didn't seem so. Her movements were too carefree and light to be grieving for a fellow sibling.

"She was the cabin's senior camper, and it's so unfortunate that she had to leave us, right _Mitchell_?"

"Mmhmm," a boy in the corner of the cabin mumbled.

"Of course, with me being the _second_ oldest camper in this cabin, I'm now head counselor, which is great since Silena was a very _weak_ and _soft_ leader. She wasn't fit to lead our cabin. She _couldn't_ even break Beckendorf's heart. It's a required ritual of the Aphrodite Cabin. We all didn't like Silena, right, _Trina_?"

A girl with brown hair sitting on her bunk nodded her head, her eyes frightened. Drew obviously commanded a lot of power in this cabin, and was most likely feared by all of her siblings. I was disgusted by her behavior.

"That's great," I said, unable to control my anger. Drew didn't even care about Silena! Silena was the bravest warrior ever, and she had sacrificed her life to even out the war.

"Now, about your little problem. We'll be able to help," Drew smiled sweetly. I wanted to slap her so hard, but she and her siblings were my ticket for revenge.

"Don't worry," Drew continued, "we'll find a way to mend your heart that Luke broke."

Wait. What?

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading this chapter. Please review or comment, thanks! :P


	4. I Strike a Deal With the Devil

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 4: I Strike a Deal With the Devil

* * *

This section is in Percy's POV

* * *

To clear things up, _I did not faint_. I simply went to sleep because I was over exhausted. Fighting monsters to save Olympus really drains one's energy.

Ok fine, I passed out. The pain was too much. My eyes felt like I was on fire, my hair felt like it was being ripped from my scalp, and my legs, well, I'd rather not describe that.

When I woke up, I was face down in a candy shop, or what used to be a candy shop. Cement rubble was scattered on the black-and-white checkered floor. Lollipops were scattered around the floor, combined with a few gumdrops. I seemed to be invisible to the employees in red, white, and blue uniforms parading around the store, trying to get things back into order.

This was no random candy store, this was the store my mom owned! "Sweet on America," it was called. It looked like the place had been hurt badly by the monsters of Kronos. The lighting was dim, and candles were lit since it was pretty late in the day. I groaned as I pushed myself up into sitting position. My back ached, and I felt like an old lady. Maybe one of those old ladies that crocheted at Central Park. I looked around the store for my mom. I couldn't find her among all the Fourth of July colored workers. Where was she?

More importantly, I realized, what was I doing here? I was supposed to be on Olympus, right?

"Uh, excuse me?" I asked the blue worker next to me, "Have you seen Sally Jackson?" She brushed past me like I was a fly.

_Hmm, maybe they can't see me. _

I set out to test my theory. "Hey! I'm Sally Jackson's son…Whoa!" The male employee that I was talking to had walked right through me, causing a strange sensation to ripple through me, kind of like I was being tickled.

"That's interesting," I said loudly. No one turned or looked my way. "Look!" I waved madly, "Angry cantaloupes riding rhinos!" No reaction. Huh, interesting.

"Percy?" A familiar voiced asked from behind me.

"Mom!" I ran over and gave my mother a hug. Her brown hair was ruffled and there was a black smudge on her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she brushed away my question. "I've been worried about you. I told you to give me a sign that you were okay before you went up to Olympus, remember?"

Oops. I was going to turn the top of the Empire State Building blue, but the whole "let's-make-Percy-a-god-affair" had ruined my concentration.

"Sorry Mom," I apologized, "I can explain-"

"And then there was a rumbling, like thunder," my mom continued ranting, "a few hours after you went up. Do you have any idea how worried I was? The city has been destroyed by Kronos, and then you give me more to worry by dashing off-"

"I can explain," I cut her off hurriedly. "See, the gods were awarding Grover, Annabeth, and me, and they offered us important positions. Mine was to be Dad's second-in-command."

There was silence accompanied by the sound of crinkling as candy pieces were shuffled around in the background. My mother's face, lit dimly in the candlelight, looked like it had aged in seconds.

She took a deep, slow breath. "Excuse me? As in… a god?"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "I know it sounds really insane, and it's really sudden news, but I accepted-"

My mom huffed loudly.

"-and now I'm a god." I figured my mom would send me to a hospital for crazy, mental convicts after she heard this. Maybe I should have explained more slowly.

"I couldn't really turn it down, I mean-"

"Percy. Is your father okay with this?"

"Well, he's the one who kind of suggested it…"

I could see my mother take a deep breath. "Why would you accept a gift from the gods? A gift that seemingly great certainly has a huge price hanging from it. You should have asked me before you made any decisions."

"Sorry," I said guiltily.

"No words can describe how disappointed I am in you," my mother muttered. "But at least you're safe and alive."

"I'll be alive forever," I offered, hoping to reassure her.

"What about safe? And do you really want to live on forever? What will you do after I die? What about Annabeth? Grover? All your friends?"

When she put it that way, immortality didn't seem that great. What a stupid mistake I made. I really wanted to go back to the past and smack myself in the head. And then again for good measure.

My friends were the most important thing to me. Everything I did, fighting monsters, risking my life, was for Camp Half Blood. And now I had to leave them, physically (even though my domain as a god was the Camp). There was so much I would miss out on: the training, laughing with my friends, the campfire, Grover, and the other campers.

And Annabeth. Oh gods why did I even accept immortality? I'd probably never get to hear her call me "Seaweed Brain" again. I'd hurt her by becoming a god, and I'd guess she'd hurt me back, literally, by stabbing me with her dagger. Great. My life was so messed up.

"What am I going to do," I moaned to my mother, who just glared at me.

"This is _your_ problem. You put this burden onto yourself. Fix it yourself, after all, you are a god." There was a moment of silence again. "Percy? You're flickering."

"Huh?" I looked down. My shoes disappeared and reappeared again within a second. "Uh…"

"Looks like your time with me is up. Maybe Zeus is calling you back," she suggested. I was utterly confused. My mother understood so much more than I did, and she was only a mortal. "Percy, I love you so much. Be safe. No matter what horrible decisions you make, I'll always be there to support you."

"I love you too mom, stay safe," I managed to say before everything in front of me turned white. I felt a blast of wind hit me, and I was thrown off balance. Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of an extremely tall man with buff, tan arms.

"Dad?" I asked when I saw the familiar three-pronged trident in the man's hand.

"Looks like you ventured elsewhere while you were passed out," Poseidon rumbled.

"You mean Mom's candy shop?"

"It's complicated," Poseidon sighed, his face aging another decade. "Sit," he patted the bench next to him that faced a fireplace. I obeyed his command and sat down in front of the fire. I rubbed my hands to get them warmed up. Squinting my eyes, I looked into the fire and caught sight of a little girl dancing among the flames. She winked at me and then disappeared.

"What time is it?" I asked my father. "I should be getting back to…" And then I realized I wasn't going to sleep in my cabin at Camp Half Blood ever again.

"We gods don't really pay attention to time, but if you must know, it's nighttime," Poseidon chuckled like he had made a funny joke.

"Ha ha." I grumbled.

"Now onto a more serious topic, do you understand what happened after you passed out at the ceremony?" my father asked.

"Umm, I journeyed to Mom's candy shop?"

"More than that. See, gods can have different forms, so part of you left your actual body and ventured off to visit your mother, who I guess wasn't too thrilled when she found out you were immortal."

"Yeah," I rubbed my forehead, "she wasn't happy. So I left my body? Like, my spirit?"

"Not exactly. Gods can be in multiple places at the same time, as long as their domain is involved."

"What?"

"You're god of heroes and bravery. Your mom was being brave and tending to her shop even though she was scared and wanted to go home. You were able to go to her because you're a god of bravery. And also because she's your mother, but if she wasn't…"

"So if there was this person being brave, I could just pop up and say hi?"

"Well… yes. If you wanted to. Like I said, it's complicated. You'll figure stuff out as you experiment."

Maybe I could visit Annabeth and tell her how sorry I was and beg for forgiveness. Since my domain was Camp Half Blood, I could go there no problem. All gods could probably visit anyways since gods popped by sometimes. Hmm, if my domain was Camp Half Blood, did that make me the god of the Camp? That would be-

"Percy! Did you hear what I said?" Poseidon waved his trident in front of me.

"Y equals MX plus B," I blurted. "Oh wait. What?" I blame everything on my ADHD.

"We're not in math class," Poseidon said sternly, with a joking glint in his eyes. "I said, don't ever venture into another god's domain. Unless they invite you, or your domains overlap, don't ever trespass. Only the messenger god and goddess can do so."

That made sense. If a god came to a lake, could I use my cool, apparently non-existent, powers to zap him or her?

"Being a god is so complicated," I complained.

"Ask me questions then. I'm a god."

"Am I god of Camp Half Blood?"

"In a way, yes, since that is your domain."

Cool.

"Do I have a symbol?"

"Err, Ares suggested a rock, Aphrodite demanded it be a slug. So I guess it's undecided. It takes centuries for mortals to recognize a new god and associate a symbol with a new god."

Not cool.

"Do I have cool powers?"

"That's for you to find out."

Drat.

Poseidon's image flickered for a moment, and he frowned. "There's a disturbance at my palace. I think a giant squid ran into the bowling alley we just fixed." He had a bowling alley in his palace? "I must go now. Don't do anything rash." He disappeared out of sight.

The huge palace of the Olympians was quiet, aside from the crackling noises from the fireplace. After poking the fire with a stick for a few minutes, I realized that I had another problem.

Where was I going to sleep?

* * *

This next section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

Farm Road 3.141

Long Island, New York 11954

Camp Half Blood: home of Greek demigods, champions, and heroes. Also home of some of the most annoying people on earth.

Drew led me outside of the cabin and closed the pink door behind us. "I know about you and Luke, dear, and it's just _so_ unfortunate how he had to die." Drew cooed. I was still in shock to defend myself or correct her.

"He was _such_ a handsome boy, and _pity_ that he had to join Kronos. I know you must be in _immense_ pain," Drew batted her fake eyelashes in fake sympathy.

"Drew," I snapped, "I'm not in love with Luke."

"I can still sense your grief and loss over him."

I blinked. "Luke was one of my best friends. Of course losing him would make me feel grief. But we were only friends. I've come here to talk about another equally frustrating boy."

Now it was Drew's turn to look shocked. "Percy?"

"Yes," I snapped again, "Isn't that obvious?"

"But you hate him!" Drew widened her brown eyes that contrasted greatly against the orange eye makeup (or whatever they called it) around her eyes.

"Well," I squirmed uncomfortably. I wasn't really used to talking about boys with other girls. Architecture and math were my strong suits, not love and romance. "*****Hate is a four-letter word used to convey a strong, passionate feeling, usually mistakenly or purposely used in the place of another four-letter word also used to convey a strong and passionate but much more pleasant feeling."

Drew blinked rapidly. Ha. The gears in her brain must be working too slowly to process all of that information.

I sighed. "I mean, I like Percy. Like, love, whatever. You know, affectionately. As in like like, or love, but not-"

"I know what love means," Drew snapped. "I'm a child of Aphrodite for gods sake. I know love with I see it."

"Then can you help me?" I pleaded.

Drew tapped a perfectly manicured finger against her equally pampered lips. "Depends… what will I benefit from helping you?"

"I can give you a pass for free food at one of the snack shacks I'm designing near the entrance of Olympus," I offered. "The gods made me official architecture of Olympus." Well, sue me. Of course I couldn't resist the urge to flaunt my latest accomplishment.

"Why not a makeup store," Drew pouted.

"Because Olympians don't use makeup," I rolled my eyes. "They snap their fingers and get perfect skin and everything."

"Then no deal."

"If I construct a makeup store in New York City and give you an unlimited free pass to all the makeup, will you help me?"

"Depends on if it's open yet or not…"

I gritted my teeth. "If I start construction tomorrow, and you come with me as a witness, will you help me?"

"How fast can you get it up?"

Are all Aphrodite kids this fastidious? "A month. Maybe a week with help from the Hephaestus Cabin and my siblings."

"Can you make it five days?"

I clenched my fists. "Yes." Hopefully the Hephaestus kids were fast workers. I'd seen them do miracles with their inventions. Maybe they could work a miracle with the shop Drew wanted.

"Then deal." We shook hands.

Aphrodite kids drive hard deals. Note to self: never underestimate the power of even the daftest people.

"Great," Drew smiled sweetly, "Meet me tomorrow morning in front of my cabin at ten." She turned and disappeared inside her cabin.

Phase One; Get Drew to help me: Complete. My plan was going to be put into action. Things were going smoothly, so far. But why did I feel like I had struck a bargain with the devil?

* * *

**Author's Note**: Thanks for reading! Please review/comment, thanks!

*** Said by my friend, Good Luck Charms: White Lies. **


	5. Monkey Business

I'm sorry that I didn't update for a few days… I've been busy (Yes, I know it's summer). Anyways, enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 5: Monkey Business

* * *

This section is in Annabeth's POV

* * *

The sound of hammers pounding against steel filled my head, and I gritted my teeth in frustration. I could hear campers shouting at each other. Only they weren't shouting curses or insults.

"Pass the nails!"

"I need more steel planks over here."

"Who took my hammer?"

Though loud and noisy, I had to admit that the Hephaestus kids were really good workers. They worked nimbly around the steel structure of the building that was slowly being built. The clumsy and stocky campers I knew were moving gracefully up and down the structure. When Jake Mason, the counselor of the Hephaestus Cabin, said he could get it done in less than five days, I didn't believe him.

But on the first day of construction, the campers whipped out their magical building tools and already most of the outer framework was completed.

My siblings from the Athena Cabin were arguing over the blueprint of the building I had conjured the night before. It wasn't perfect, and being the children of Athena, we leaned and sought toward perfection. I didn't really care what they did to the design. I kept up my half of the bargain. Now I had to make sure Drew did the same.

"Uch, I can't _believe_ you made me come _all_ the way out here," Drew exclaimed as she daintily high-heeled through the pile of rubble on the street. Dressed in a strapless silver… thing, she looked extremely out of place with all the people in baggy jeans and sweaty shirts behind her on the construction site.

"I thought you'd want to be assured that I kept up my part of our bargain," I said, ignoring her disdainful stare at the mud-streaked clothes I was wearing.

"I'm not _sure_ if I can keep up my half with you _dressed_ like that," Drew lifted her nose high and crinkled it.

"What do you mean?" I frowned and looked down. "I'm dressed like I always am." A simple t-shirt and jeans: that was what I always wore. Percy didn't mind at all. Thinking about Percy made my heart ache, so I pushed the thought from my mind.

"Exactly. Do you expect to get a new boyfriend _dressed_ like something that crawled out of the _gutter_?" Drew flicked off a piece of dust from her shoulder and slid some oversized sunglasses. "We have a lot of work to do."

Ten minutes and a subway trip later, we were standing in front of a large fashion store of some sorts. I'd never been in a store like this, with polished marble floors and the smell of perfume in the air.

"Drew, are you sure this is the right store? I've never worn anything like-"

Drew clucked her tongue in sympathy. "I _pity_ the less fortunate," she sighed dramatically. I clenched my fists, trying hard not to unsheathe my knife and stab her in the face. "A store like this will _definitely_ help you get some _decent_ boys."

She click-clacked straight into the store and headed to a section stocked with frilly dresses.

"Uh, Drew?" I asked, "I really don't think I can wear-"

"You'll look fine in a dress! If we shave your legs, your arms, and maybe give you a facial." Drew said as she grabbed three or four dresses. "Try these on." She threw the dresses at me.

I stood dumbfounded for a few seconds and then blindly made my way to a dressing room. I hated dresses. The only time I wore a dress was at my aunt's wedding. It didn't go well. Halfway into the pastor's speech— Actually, I'll stop there.

I had to admit, the feeling of wearing a dress made me feel more girly. The feeling of my knees exposed, however, made me feel vulnerable. I first tried on a pink dress with small white and brown flowers. I stepped out to show Drew.

"Ugh. _Not_ your color," she fake-barfed. "What _was_ I thinking." When did she ever think? "Try _this_ one." She handed me a strapless light blue dress.

I put on the dress and again stepped out for Drew to assess.

"_Even_ worse. It makes your hips look _too_ wide." She handed me a soft, light gray dress with little white bows at the sleeves.

The instant I put on this dress, it made me feel more relaxed. The fabric was very soft against my skin, and I loved the way it flowed around my legs.

"Hmm. I like this one. It matches your eyes," Drew tapped her lip. "Let's get this one. Take it off and then we can shop for matching shoes and purses."

Joy.

Thirty minutes later, we were arriving at the cash register with the dress, a pair of silver wedges (I couldn't walk in them. Drew promised that with practice, I would get it right. Ha ha), and a small, white handbag.

"That'll be five hundred and sixty eight dollars and ten cents," the blonde cashier chirped, eyeing my muddy clothes not very subtly. Sheesh.

"How am I going to pay for this?" I whispered furiously to Drew. "I don't have five hundred dollars!"

Drew shot me a look and the cashier tapped her nails against the smooth white counter. "You're _going_ to remove the tags and _give_ the clothes to me," she smiled sweetly at the cashier.

The blonde girl blinked. "I'm going to remove the tags and give the clothes to you," she said in a monotone voice. She did exactly as Drew told her to.

"We're going to go _now_," Drew said in her syrupy voice, still smiling sweetly, "and you're going to forget this _ever_ happened."

"I'm going to forget this ever happened," the cashier repeated and cleared the frightening digits on the cash register.

"And you're not going to call the cops, you're completely fine with this," Drew said smoothly, edging toward the exit.

"I'm not calling the cops, and I'm fine with this."

"Good," Drew grinned, "Ta-ta!" She bounced out of the store. I followed her, flabbergasted.

"Did you just charmspeak that girl? We're going to be in so much trouble!" I groaned.

"Relax, I do this all the time. It's no big deal. Just don't tell anyone about it," Drew said with levity. "We have more important business to do, or have you forgotten?" she raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me.

"Fine," I grumbled. What had I gotten myself into?

Thirty minutes later, I was dressed in my fancy attire and stumbling along the streets of New York.

"Balance! It's not that hard," Drew strutted ahead in three-inch heels. Yeah… I couldn't even walk in my one-inch heels. "Pretend you're Marilyn Monroe."

"Who?"

"You're hopeless," Drew muttered. "Just don't worry about anything and pretend you're famous or something."

It kind of worked. I made it five steps without falling.

Drew sighed and glanced at the time in a coffee shop nearby. "Why don't you go out with someone from Camp Half Blood?"

"That's awkward," I grumbled, almost tripping over air again.

"How about Pollux, from the Dionysus Cabin? Or one of the Stoll brothers?" Drew suggested randomly.

"They're all jerks," I gasped as I almost fell again.

"Nico?"

Nico was cute in a dark kind of way, but he was really not my type, if I had a type. "Nico's too young. I thought he liked Rachel Elizabeth Dare," I commented, "But she the Oracle now so she can't date anyone."

"Is that good or bad?"

I shrugged.

"Ooh. Look behind you," Drew nodded at the coffee shop behind me.

I turned around carefully, not wanting to fall on my face again. A boy about my age was getting coffee inside the store. He had floppy, dark brown hair kind of like Percy's. He had a gentle smile as he thanked the cashier. I could tell he wasn't the joking kind like the Stoll brothers or rash like Percy. And from the outside, he didn't look like he had a dark personality like Nico. He seemed perfect, but I couldn't tell just by looking at him. He was good-looking, but Luke was too, and he didn't turn out well. As he walked out of the store, I locked eyes with his chocolate brown eyes and pretty much melted.

And that's how I met my new boyfriend.

* * *

This next section is in Percy's POV.

* * *

So I spent the night on a hard wooden bench in the garden of Olympus. It was pretty comfortable, if you like hearing purple birds shriek at night. Oh, and butterflies tickling your face as you sleep. It was also really cold. I didn't want to move. Being a god really drains a lot of energy. Besides, I deserved the pain anyways.

But I was beginning to regret my logic when I woke up with an old man's back and something wet splattered across my face.

"What the-" I wiped the liquid off my face. It was white, gooey, and—

"Bird poop! Yuck!" I summoned water from a fountain of Apollo nearby and washed my face. Gross.

A little brown monkey squealed nearby and clapped its furry hand enthusiastically. I swear, it was laughing at me.

"Go away," I made shooing motions at the monkey. It only hopped closer and landed on the bench I was sitting on. "Go away," I repeated.

The monkey poked me and pulled at my hair. "Ow!" I yelled and before I could grab the monkey, it had sprung out of reach.

"What do you want?" I growled. The monkey opened his mouth wide and cackled loudly. He climbed up a tree and jumped on my head while I was trying to wash my face again. "Hey!"

This time I took off after the monkey. It was totally unfair. The furry creature swung from tree to tree, just out of my reach. I finally lost sight of the stupid critter a minute later. Panting hard, I leaned against a tree and caught my breath.

"You agreed to this!" I heard the booming voice of Zeus.

"I did not! You tricked me," replied an equally furious voice. I recognized the voice of Hera, the queen of the gods. They appeared to be talking on the other side of the patch of trees I was resting against. I peeked between two thick tree trunks and saw the two glaring at each other furiously. The sight blinded my eyes.

"I asked if he could be granted a gift and you said yes," Zeus huffed.

"You failed to specify what kind of gift. I thought you would give him a new sword or a badge, but never immortality!"

I then realized that they were talking about me. Great. The most powerful gods on Olympus were fighting over something related to me.

"Well you didn't ask. It's too late anyways."

"Zeus, he was important as a mortal. Making him a god changes everything. The balance is unequal now." She muttered something intelligible.

"Why? Why would Percy Jackson ever be important to you? You hate his guts."

"You don't understand. I needed him for a plan."

"Hera, your plans never turn out good. It's a good thing I ruined it though."

"No! You don't get it! He is important to defeating Gaea. He is the one who can link-" Hera stopped talking abruptly.

"Ah, so this is what you planned to do? It's a risky gamble. You know how this usually turns out," Zeus muttered.

"It would have worked if you hadn't made him into a god," Hera hissed. "You doomed us all. Gaea will rise and no one will stop her."

"Your plan would have failed anyways."

"Jason Grace and Percy Jackson are both capable of bringing the two camps together. Only they can help us defeat Gaea. Or are you too arrogant and headstrong to see the facts laid clearly in front of you? We need the demigods to help us," Hera argued.

Wait, hold on. Jason Grace? Wasn't Thalia's last name Grace? And what was this talk about two camps?

There was a sudden "BOOM" of a sound, and a bright orange light filled my eyes. I fell onto the ground, one arm up to shield my eyes from the light. When the smoke cleared, the groove of trees that hid me from the two gods had been blasted to shreds and my clothes were sizzling.

Oh, and two angry gods were glaring daggers at me.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! The last section in Percy's POV has some reference to the _Heroes of Olympus _series (the books: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, and The Mark of Athena). I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review, please? :D


	6. A New Grace

Ok, so I didn't update for a long time. Sorry! But here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 6: A New Grace

* * *

This section is in Percy's POV

* * *

Though the blue windows of the underwater palace, I was seeing the world in a completely different way. And I was glad. The world above me was screwing up my brain.

_Son of the sea god! Son of the sea god!_ Little fish bumped into the glass palace walls. It's times like this when I really wish I couldn't communicate to sea creatures.

_The son of the sea god is now a god! _A happy-looking dolphin chirped to its companion. Word spreads quickly down here. Once, this manatee overheard me… Actually, I'd rather not share that story. It involves angry squirrels flinging undergarments. Not pretty.

Where was I? Oh yes. My life pretty much reached its lowest point when Zeus and Hera caught me eavesdropping on them. Only I wasn't really eavesdropping. I was chasing this monkey and… Yeah, I'm crazy.

Anyways, Zeus zapped me down to my father's underground palace to "have a word with your father." I guess this means he wants Poseidon to spank me or something.

What was really bugging me was when Hera mentioned two different camps. Camp Half Blood was the only camp I had heard of. Chiron never talked about any other camp. If there was another demigod camp, wouldn't we have heard of them by now? What else were the gods keeping from us? And shouldn't I be allowed to know?

The second thing on my mind was this Jason Grace person Hera mentioned. He was definitely not one of the campers at Camp Half Blood. The name was faint in my memory, but I couldn't pin my thoughts down. Maybe Thalia knew. Her last name was Grace. She'd have to know something. Maybe-

"Percy?" A booming voice echoed throughout the palace. "Zeus sent word of you eavesdropping on him and Hera."

_Bad, sea god mad. _The little fishes that had been trying to get my attention zipped away in a furry of bubbles.

"I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear it," I blurted out without thinking carefully. "I didn't know where to sleep at night, so I slept outside in the garden. And then there was this crazy monkey and-"

Poseidon shut me up with a grumble and tapped his trident on the ground. "You're not in big trouble, though Zeus is irritated that you spied on them."

"But I didn't-"

My father glared at me again. "You're not in trouble because you would have found out anyways. All gods know about it."

"About Jason Grace?"

I felt the sea around me grow colder and more irritated. If water can get irritated.

"Jason Grace is none of your business," Poseidon said dryly. "I'm referring to the talk about two camps."

"I've never heard of two demigod camps before," I mentioned. "Just Camp Half Blood. There's no other camp. Right?"

There was only silence was Poseidon stroked his short, gray beard and contemplated what to say next. "How much do you know about Greek history?"

"Not much," I admitted. I never paid attention in history class. It was hard for an ADHD kid like me. "Just that when the Greek empire fell, the Romans took over."

"Exactly."

Wow. I was right for once. But I was still confused by how this would relate to anything.

"When the Romans came, Greek gods were still here. We adapted to fit the religion and tradition of the Romans." Poseidon paused and waited.

The rusty gears in my brain started turning slowly. "So… you're saying you turned into Roman gods?"

"We have two aspects: Greek and Roman," Poseidon explained. "Right now, I'm in my Greek form. My Roman name is Neptune." With a tap of his trident, my father's whole form changed. He became more tall, proud, and regal. There was a sense of dignity and importance to him.

"Uh," I said stupidly.

"You may be surprised, but Romans emphasized order and discipline. This is why most of our Roman forms seem more formal."

"Even Ares?" I inquired.

"Even Ares. He's one of the more important gods for Romans."

"How about you? Are you the superior god of the seas?" I asked.

"Percy, the Romans feared the sea. They associated the sea with dread. So I am not an extremely important god. I get little respect from the Romans."

"Does that mean I get little respect too? 'Cause I'm your son…"

Poseidon, er, Neptune's image flickered for a moment and his eyes grew more tired. "Since you've only been introduced to the Greek half, I'm not sure you have a Roman half yet. Gods are very complicated. Even I don't understand everything. Maybe if the Roman camp recognized you…"

"Roman camp?" I almost choked on my own words. "Is this the other camp out there?"

Poseidon frowned. "I thought you would catch up on that sooner. But yes, Camp Jupiter is the other camp for demigods. Roman demigods." He waited for the news to settle in.

"But, we've never even heard of them. Chiron-"

"Chiron," Poseidon interrupted, "was sentenced to secrecy. He was not allowed to speak of this."

"But we would have ran into them on quests, right?"

"You have, on several occasions." Poseidon said casually. "We just altered your memories to make you forget about the incident. See, when Romans and Greeks meet, there's usually bloodshed and death. That's why we forbid Camp Half Blood from venturing to the west coast."

This started to make more sense. I wondered if I ever ran into Roman demigods on my quests. "So is Jason Grace a Roman demigod?"

Poseidon was silent. "It's best if you not think about Jason. He is not important at the moment. Don't try to get any information about him. Also, don't tell any of the campers about this."

"I swear on the River Styx I won't tell anyone," I promised. I swear, the sea turned even colder as I said that, and I could feel the tense energy around the palace.

"Good," Poseidon flickered back to his regular form. "You may stay at my palace until you find a home of your own."

"Aw, come on," I protested.

Poseidon grinned slightly. "It's tough being a god, if you haven't figured out yet." He disappeared in a puff of blue. Why can't I do that?

* * *

This next section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

I swear, I have no idea how I got into this mess. Percy pretty much abandoned me, I was looking for revenge so I hired Drew, and now I have a boyfriend. I don't know how she did it, and I don't want to know.

I don't even know his name. After first seeing him in the coffee shop, I was too shy to say hi and begged Drew to take me back to Camp Half Blood. And so she did. What I didn't know was that she somehow managed to find him later that day and ask him to go on a date with me. And he agreed.

This world is crazy.

"So when's this big day again?" Drew prompted me as she leaned against the door of the weaponry room.

"Tomorrow, Saturday at six thirty," I grumbled as I polished my dagger.

"Where?" Drew asked again, checking her nails for chips.

"The Starbucks near Central Park," I muttered as I swiped the dirt off my pants.

"And you're going to wear…?"

"Something casual, yet formal?" I guessed.

Drew rolled her eyes. "I'll take care of that part. You can come to my cabin tomorrow at three and we'll give you a makeover." She glanced not so subtly at the stained shirt I was wearing. Hey, it was Percy's and I missed him. Don't ask how I got it.

"And don't bring that knife of yours," Drew added.

"What if there's a monster attack, then I'll have nothing to protect myself with."

"Oh please," Drew sniffled, "as if someone would want to get in close proximity with you."

I gritted my teeth for what must have been the thirtieth time that day. Gods know why I never stabbed her heart. "Why don't you go hang out with your brothers and sisters?" I suggested, eager to get rid of the tag-a-long Barbie.

"Mm, they are busy at the moment," she studied her nails intently.

I grinned. "You mean, they kicked you out of the cabin? Are they ignoring you?" It would be no surprise. No one really liked Drew anyways. Love didn't go as far as siblings in the Aphrodite Cabin, from what I heard.

Drew huffed loudly. "None of your business. Your job is to get that makeup shop built, pronto. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am," I said lazily. I finally finished cleaning my dagger. "I'm going to practice now," I slid my dagger into its little pouch at my side.

As I walked out of the weaponry room, Drew followed me hesitantly. "Beneyecanewitssew?" she mumbled.

"Excuse me?" I raised an eyebrow.

Drew sighed loudly and looked around. "Can I come with you?" She hissed. "My cabin mates are killing me. They won't stop talking about Tristan McLean."

"Who?" I asked. I didn't know any celebrities or movie stars. To be honest, I was more interested in geometry and physics than the world of stardom.

"Never mind," Drew rolled her eyes again. "Can I just watch?"

"You can fight against me," I offered, grinning slightly. That would be too easy. I don't think Drew ever picked up a weapon in her life. Wouldn't want to get her nails chipped.

"Naw, I'll ruin my manicure," Drew waved my suggestion away, as expected.

Suddenly, the birds stopped chirping and there was only silence other than the sound of metal banging against metal. I could hear the sound of feet pounding against the dirt path, drawing nearer to us.

Maybe I should have said the sound of hooves pounding against the ground, as it was Grover who was running to us.

"Annabeth!" He panted. "Come quick. There's been," he gulped quickly, "an accident."

I glanced at Drew, who looked indifferent. "Who?" I asked.

"Thalia Grace."


	7. Running Blind

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 7: Running Blind

* * *

This section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

I thundered down the dirt path with Grover right behind me. The sound of our feet (and hooves) pounding frantically against the ground only made me run faster. I could see a crowd gathering in front of the Big House and made a bee-line toward them.

"Excuse me," I muttered again and again as I pushed my way past the other campers. I stopped short at the sight I saw before me.

To say Thalia looked like she had died would be an understatement. I honestly couldn't tell where her head was at first glance. I felt faint at the smell of blood and Grover had to steady me. It was hard to believe that a tough fighter like Thalia could ever exist in this state.

Chiron shooed most of the campers out of the way and moved Thalia quickly into the Big House. Grover and I followed, ignoring the questioning stares from the other campers.

"What happened?" Grover gulped and looked away from Thalia's lifeless body. Some Apollo campers were tending to Thalia's wounds and trying to feed her ambrosia. It didn't look like it was working.

"I think we'd all like to know that," Chiron said steadily. So he obviously didn't know what had happened. "She showed up a few minutes ago, muttering something no one could understand. She then collapsed before I could get here."

"Maybe a stray monster attacked her," I suggested. It was possible. After the attack on New York, Kronos's monsters were leaderless and would have been roaming around. Thalia could have ran into one. But wouldn't she be with her Hunters?

"Maybe," Chiron agreed, "but it seems far more serious than that. Thalia knows how to defend herself. A monster couldn't have taken her out that easily if she was with the Hunters." He paused, waiting for his words to register in our minds.

"Are you saying," Grover said slowly, "that she wasn't with the Hunters?"

"I'm saying more than that. The Hunters and Artemis are missing."

* * *

It's really hard to concentrate on what shoes will match what top when your best friend is on the verge of death. Of course, Drew didn't care about Thalia. She cared more about the outfit I was supposed to wear for my "date."

"Can we postpone it," I complained to Drew, trying to peek around the hoard of Aphrodite kids that were fussing over my hair. "I really want to be here when Thalia wakes up."

Drew didn't seem to hear. "Lacy, be _careful_ with that makeup brush! It's worth _more_ than your life!"

Lacy gritted her teeth and moved the brush away from my face. Drew was getting on everyone's nerves. I had to constantly remind myself why I was here again.

"Trina, _what_ are you wearing? It looks like something that came out of my _grandmother's_ closet. _Take_ it off and go put on something else."

Trina, who had been straightening my hair, clenched her knuckles so tightly I could see the whiteness of her bones showing through.

"Mitchell! There's garbage on the floor. Pick it up and throw it away!"

While Drew criticized pretty much everyone in the cabin, I couldn't help but think about what Chiron had told Grover and me yesterday.

The Hunters of Artemis and Artemis herself had vanished from the face of the earth. They had been on a mission and all had disappeared mysteriously except for Thalia, who somehow found her way back to Camp Half Blood. It looked like she had escaped from whatever captured the Hunters but had been badly hurt in the process. It was mind-blowing.

Hermes had scoured every hole, cave, and crevice around the world; he did not find a single trace of the Hunters. It was like they had been erased from the earth. Wiped from all of our memories.

Hades had searched the Underworld, but had found nothing. Poseidon called upon his aquatic friends, and they too came back with nothing. Zeus, up in the sky, could not see anything related to the disappearance of the Hunters.

Hera had informed the Council that the Hunters were last seen near the West Coast. I didn't believe her. When had Hera actually done something useful for demigods? If anything, I bet Hera had something to do with the disappearing of the Hunters.

But only Thalia would be able to tell us the truth, or at least some of it. Chiron said that she could be out form days to weeks. It was completely frustrating to be unable to do anything at all.

"Annabeth!" Drew snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Do you remember the plan?"

I shrugged. Drew sighed and went over the plan once more. We were to sneak out of camp and catch a bus to New York. There, I would meet up with the guy, who Drew finally told me his name, and somehow get this all broadcasted to Percy. Fun.

I still don't get how Drew got him to even agree to go on a date with me.

My hair had been pulled super straight, I was dressed in what Drew called "casual romantic," and my self-esteem was super low. At least she didn't make me wear heels.

"Remember to smile," Drew hissed into my ear as we reached our destination. "Laugh at his jokes, but don't laugh too hard. Make small talk. Don't insult him or anything he likes. Oh, and don't mention any past relationships. As if you had any."

I was given a small push toward the coffee shop and Drew crossed the street to Central Park. She would be supervising from across the street. Hopefully I wouldn't bomb the mission and Drew wouldn't have to come over and save me.

"Annabeth?" A voice called from behind me. I turned around to see my "date." Before me stood an incredibly handsome boy with a deep tan. Actually, handsome wasn't the right word. He had soft, chocolate-colored eyes, a sweet smile, and long eye-lashes. It was kind of cute how his bangs fell into his eyes. Pretty was the word. If it was possible for a boy to be called pretty.

"Uh," I stammered, my heart skipping a few beats. My palms started sweating, and I swear my legs were shaking.

"I'm Kier," he smiled slightly and held his hand out. I shook it hesitantly. "Your friend Drew told me about you."

"Uh," I repeated stupidly. Why didn't I do this around Percy? He made me feel the same way: flushed, excited, and shaky.

"So, should we sit," Kier gestured inside the coffee shop.

"Uh, yeah," I mumbled, Percy slipping completely from my mind as Kier took my hand and led me inside. I turned my head and looked across the street at a park bench. Drew waved and gave me a thumbs up. She wasn't the one with the huge boy problem. How did I, Annabeth Chase, with the wisdom of the goddess Athena, get into this huge mess?

* * *

This next section is in Thalia's POV.

* * *

Darkness. Complete darkness. With the occasional flashes of red. I could only keep running. Running in the utter darkness. I'd never been so afraid of the night in my life. As a Hunter of Artemis, we spent most of our time working under the moonlight. Shadows and the moon were my friend. But not tonight.

The black shadows engulfed me in fear. I'd never felt this horror before in my life. The black of night that once soothed me was now terrorizing me. The moon had abandoned me. Where was light when I needed it.

Run.

I could only run. I was being chased. I had no idea where I was running. My heartbeat was a metronome, matching the tempo of my feet.

_Thumpthumpthump._

Like wolf and rabbit. With my Hunters, I was usually the wolf. The fearless wolf with its pack. The tables had turned, and I was the rabbit. I was the prey.

Instincts told me to run. I had to get out of here. But how? I could not see anything. I was running blind into the dark night. My emotions seemed to blind my sight. Confusion, shock, fear, and anger. Angry that I was so helpless.

_Gods help me…_

And then there was light. I could see the world turn from black, to gray, to white. And then I was standing on a cliff with walls as white as snow. Black water churned underneath my feet, as dark as ink. My stomach seemed to mirror the movements of the waves, gushing upward and smashing against the cliff. I tried to scream for help, but I could not move my mouth. My words were stuck in my throat. They would never leave my mouth.

I saw the flash of red again. And then I was falling. Falling off the cliff. I was tumbling down in a spiral motion. I could see the whiteness of the cliff, and then the black water. White, then black. White, and then black again. I braced myself for the impact of flesh and water, but felt none. What I felt was worse.

Pain beyond pain. Indescribable pain. The world around me was red. A bright, playful red that turned darker with each spasm of pain I felt. I heard screams, but the voice was not mine.

"Thalia! Help!"

_Artemis!_

I tried to call back. My mouth moved, but no sound came out.

"Thalia!"

Within the mass of red flooding my eyes, I could see a thin trail of silver. The silver of Artemis.

"Thalia, help us!"

_My Hunters._

More voices joined with Artemis, calling my name in desperation. But I couldn't do anything. There was pain in there voice. The exact pain I felt right now, withering with agony on the floor. The voices grew louder and more frightened. When I could take it no longer, everything seemed to explode.

The redness disappeared and white light flooded my eyes. The pain had receded and I felt somewhat at rest. Like I was sleeping. Voices whispered softly into my ear.

_Sleep, little child. Dream forever. You have failed your mission. Surprised?_

I wanted to protest. The mission was not lost. I was still here. Was I?

_You cannot prevent me from rising. You were a fool to listen to Hera. Sleep well, my child. Mother knows best._

* * *

This next section is in Percy's POV.

* * *

The gods were furious. Beyond furious. And I had no idea what was going on. I sat in a small seat behind my father. The Council was meeting for something extremely important. Zeus didn't want me to come, but Poseidon insisted, saying the experience would help me.

There was an empty seat. The gods seemed to ignore it, but I could see it bothered them.

Thunder boomed in the sky, and the meeting was called to order.

"As you can all see, we have a major problem in our hands." Zeus said in his loud and commanding voice.

"It's Hera's fault. She's the one who told them to go," Hades immediately defended himself. "I had nothing to do with it."

Hera's eyes blazed in fury. "Only because Zeus ruined my first plan!"

"The first is just as worse as this one," Zeus roared. "Can't you just lay low and not interfere with the demigods?"

There was muttering as the Council talked amongst themselves.

I raised my hand hesitantly. "Uh, could you be so kind as to tell me what's going on?" The room grew silent. I could hear the birds chirping all the way from the garden.

"Hera," Hades placed emphasis on the queen of gods, "decided to send the Hunters of Artemis, and Artemis herself, on a suicide mission, which ultimately failed."

"So, the Hunters are fine, right?" I asked. "So it's the mission that is in trouble."

Ares snorted loudly. "You must have seaweed in your brain."

With a pang, I thought about Annabeth and her nickname for me. I'd probably never be able to hear her voice again.

"The Hunters are missing," Ares clarified. "And so is Artemis."

What? That couldn't be possible. The Hunters were too swift and agile to be caught. And they had a god on their side!

"The only survivor is Thalia, who is seriously injured has been taken into care by Camp Half Blood," Ares concluded.

"So you're saying all of the Hunters, plus Artemis, have vanished from the face of the earth, except Thalia?" I asked.

Ares rolled his eyes. "The rusty gears in your brain are finally working."

"Again," Hades interrupted, "If it weren't for Hera-"

"It's not my fault!" Hera hissed, standing up from her seat. "I did this for the sake of the gods and the demigods! It had to be done."

"You take a risky gamble with your dangerous plans," Zeus argued. "Do you want to destroy us all?"

Hera glared at her husband and sat down again. The tension in the room was building quickly. And I still had no idea what was going on.

"There's been no sign of the Hunters, and we shall continue looking," Zeus continued, ignoring the death glares Hera was shooting at Hades. "Contact all minor gods and send them up here immediately. This meeting is dismissed."

I headed outside to the garden while various minor gods arrived at Olympus. There was a whole lot of arguing among the gods, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was my fault. Hera had said that I was part of her first plan, but it had been ruined when I was made a god.

Determined to set things straight, I marched out of Olympus to find the missing Hunters. But that was a bad idea. Because the first thing I saw was Annabeth making out with some guy.


	8. Fast Paced

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 8: Fast Paced

* * *

This section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

"If Aphrodite were your mother, I bet she'd be proud of you," Drew smirked as we met at the telephone pole we had decided to meet at after my "date."

"What?" I asked, still confused by the turn of events.

Drew rolled her eyes. I swear, this must have been the fiftieth time she rolled her eyes around me. But whatever; it didn't bother me much. I had bigger problems on my mind.

"You know, moving really fast for someone with so little experience."

"What?" I repeated. To be honest, I knew exactly what had happened. I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be true.

"Ugh," Drew huffed. "I mean, you kissed on your first date." She looked expectantly at me.

I shrugged. I didn't even know Kier would try to kiss me. We had been talking about his family. He was an only child and his mother had died in a car crash when he was younger. His father sent him off to a boarding school in New York.

He was so different from Percy. Much more polite, mature, and considerate, and I kind of liked that. The two hours passed by quickly, and soon it was 8:30. I don't think I'd ever smiled or laughed that much ever since… Well, ever since Percy left.

The last few seconds of our date went by in a blur. We got up from our seats when suddenly, Kier's face was inches from mine, and before I knew it, I had my first kiss. When he pulled away, his face was grim, so unlike the moments before when we were sharing happy memories with each other. He kept looking behind me as he pulled away, but I was too confused to do anything.

Kier's grim expression disappeared and he flashed a smile at me, said a quick goodbye, then left.

"So? That's it?" Drew prompted. "Are you just going to stand there like a statue?"

"Uh," I sat down on a park bench and rubbed my forehead. During the kiss, there was only one thought running through my mind. _I'm in big trouble if Percy finds out_. It was confusing. I felt happy with Kier. I wasn't supposed to let Percy bother me, or even feel like I was betraying him.

"Did you eat seafood?" Drew suddenly said. She tilted her head back. "I'm pretty sure Starbucks doesn't sell seafood."

"No, we didn't eat any seafood," I said. I stood up slowly. I smelled it too. There was a salty tang in the air. Kind of like seaweed.

Seaweed…

I turned around quickly to see a boy with dark hair turn around corner, out of sight.

"Drew," I snapped, "Was Percy here?"

"What? No?"

"Are you sure?" I asked, frowning. The smell of the sea was slowly fading.

I could have sworn that boy that disappeared around the block was Percy. Why was he here? Did he see me and Kier? If he did, wasn't that a good thing? Didn't I want him to know I was moving on?

Drew patted my shoulder. "You need to get over Percy. Kier's perfect for you."

Then why didn't I feel the same way about it?

* * *

We made it back to camp without anyone seeing us. I snuck into the Big House to check on Thalia. Chiron was there.

"How is she?" I asked, closing the door behind me.

"I think she's getting better," Chiron said. "She mumbled a few words earlier. I think she also might have screamed." He frowned.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, the two of us watching Thalia intently for any signs of movement. Crickets chirped happily outside, and the warm wind billowed through the trees around the camp. It would have been a good day if Thalia wasn't half-dead, Percy wasn't a god, and if I wasn't so confused.

"Chiron…" I called to the centaur. I leaned in closer, studying Thalia's scarred face. There was a thin trail of wetness making its way down her face.

Chiron frowned again as he studied the tiny teardrop.

Thalia never cried. Something really bad must have happened to the Hunters to make her cry. The Hunters were her family, like how Luke and I were her family as well.

"Annabeth, it's getting late," Chiron gestured to the dark sky. "You'd better get back to your cabin."

I reluctantly dragged myself back to my cabin, where inside, my siblings happily informed me that the construction of Drew's store was completed. I thanked them for their help, which was pointless because they pretty much thanked me back for giving them a project to work on. Being the kids of Athena, architecture is like dessert for us.

If only I could build my life back to the way it was.

* * *

This next section is in Percy's POV.

* * *

My face flushed, I ran aimlessly through the streets of New York, where I mercilessly ran over Chihuahuas and made little children drop their ice cream. Hey, I was one stressed out god.

Maybe I deserved it. All of it. It was my fault that Hera was mad at Zeus. It was because of me that the order in the universe was on the verge of tipping. The disappearance of the Hunters was probably also somehow connected to me. And of course, it was definitely because of my decisions that I lost Annabeth to some guy that would drive all off Aphrodite's daughters insane.

Yep, I was living a cursed life.

"Hey! Watch it!" A taxi driver yelled at me as he nearly ran me over. Like I would die from that.

I think I caused a minor car crash, and maybe a traffic jam as I raced across another busy intersection.

But whatever.

A dark shadow appeared alongside me, following my every step. I looked up to see Blackjack, my Pegasus, flying above me.

_Hey boss, _He nickered happily, _need a ride?_

He flew lower and I climbed on awkwardly, my legs dangling off. "Slow down!" I grunted as I grabbed Blackjack's mane.

_Ow! That hurts!_ He whinnied.

I finally got on successfully, and looked down to see mortals gaping up at us in shock. Because of the Mist, they were probably seeing some helicopter or something. And a crazy boy who jumped onto the helicopter.

_Where are we going?_ Blackjack asked as we soared higher.

"Uhh… I need to find someone who can make me mortal again."

_Mortal? I dunno boss. Maybe the River of Lethes? That stuff is good for being reborn._

"Yeah, but I don't want to be reborn."

_Maybe Hades can help you._

"I doubt that. He hates my guts."

_Persephone? She's loads nicer than Hades._

"Hmm. That's a good idea. Blackjack?"

_Yeah, boss?_

"First, stop calling me 'boss,' and second, you're a really good Pegasus."

_Thanks, boss._

We met up with Grover to open the Doors of Orpheus, which we opened not too long ago. Grover did his magic with the reed pipes and then we said farewell to Blackjack, who decided he had some grazing to do. Coward.

Grover happily went along with me. We crawled through the tunnel that opened and soon reached the main gates that led to Hade's palace.

The palace was the exact image of the one on Olympus. It was just more… gloomy. I always got a feeling of death and fear whenever I visited the Underworld.

"Percy?"

I looked across the gates to see Nico di Angelo.

"What are you doing here?"

I took a deep breath. "I need your help."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter D: Review? Thanks :3


	9. I See a Seer

Sorry for not updating in over a month. Here's a long(er) chapter to make up for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 9: I See a Seer

* * *

This section is in Percy's POV.

* * *

Nico had a frown on his face. Or was it a scowl. It was hard to tell. I had never been able to read Nico's emotions very well.

"So let me get this straight. You became a god and now you want to become mortal again?" Nico looked at me with disbelief on his face. Behind me, Grover was silently chewing a tin can. The sound of his teeth grinding against the tin made the hairs on my arm stand on end.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"But, wow. Immortality," Nico gaped at me. "How could you turn your back on that?"

"Trust me," I grumbled, "It wasn't an easy decision. I finally learned how to evaporate into smoke and appear somewhere else."

Nico blinked. "Then what was it that made you finalize your decision?"

"Annabeth," I said simply.

"You really need to get together with her. I don't know why you-"

"I know, I know," I sighed. Did everyone have to keep reminding me of my mistakes? "Just help me. Please."

"Yeah, for a down payment of-"

I shot him a glare.

"Just kidding. I'll take you to Persephone." Nico opened the gate in between us.

"Come on Grover." I turned around to see Grover eye's wide, his mouth open in shock.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not going to see that crazy lady. Remember last time when we were searching for Zeus's lightning bolt?" He shuddered and the tin can fell out of his mouth.

"Oh come on," I protested. "We won't let her touch you."

After about five more minutes of arguing, Nico and I finally convinced Grover to go with us.

"I hate this place," Grover muttered as we walked closer to the palace. It was really creepy. The palace emitted a weird dark red glow, and I felt as if I could hardly breathe in the stuffy air.

Nico looked perfectly comfortable walking past skeletons and deformed skulls. "I'll admit it's kind of freaky, but I'm used to it."

"I don't think I could ever get used to this," Grover mumbled. "I wish I had another can to chew."

"No cans down here. We do have plenty of rotten bones," Nico offered.

Grover scrunched up his nose. "I'll pass."

"I think Hades is out looking for the Hunters of Artemis right now," Nico said after a moment of silence. "We should have no problem finding Persephone. She's more relaxed when Hades is gone."

Even I was more relieved to hear that Hades wasn't in his palace at the moment. It would be a seriously bad idea to anger the god of Death.

The palace was freakishly empty. The sounds of our footsteps echoed back to us. Nico took a black helmet from a suit of armor so Grover would not panic.

We finally found Persephone in the throne room.

"Ah. Percy Jackson," Persephone said without turning around. How did she know we were here? "It's was easy to hear you coming. You walk like an elephant."

Oh.

"What is it that you want?" Persephone asked. "Is being immortal not satisfying enough to you?"

"Actually, yes. I'm not satisfied being a god. I want to become mortal again," I said, much too Persephone's surprise.

"You do realize," Persephone said slowly, "that such a feat is nearly impossible."

"So you're saying that it can still be achieved."

Persephone glared at me. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes please." She seemed to be willing to help us. Or maybe she just wanted to get rid of us. I hoped that I wouldn't say something stupid to bring all of my hopes crashing down.

"Seek out Phineas, the seer. He's in the Fields of Punishment. Good luck and goodbye."

* * *

Turns out we did need luck.

We walked along a rocky path that seemed to glow. Thick black smoke rose out of the fissures in the path. In the distance was a cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields. Barbed wire separated the different tortured areas. I could hear painful screaming echoing around the wastelands. Like the last time I came here, I could hear faint music playing. Old music. Maybe from the 1980s.

"Tell me when I can look again." Grover covered his ears and hid his eyes under his arms.

"This… is disturbing," I muttered, trying not to scream myself.

"They deserve it," Nico said. He scanned the Field without flinching as scream after scream was heard. It sounded like a screaming duet. "Look there."

I didn't know where Nico was pointing. I could see people being chased by hellhounds, being burned at a stake, and other horrible things too gross to even describe.

"Where?" I asked again. "Grover help me look." I tried to pry his fingers off his eyes but it was useless.

When I turned around, Nico had walked further along the path, to the edge of the barbed wire. He motioned us to hurry and I had to drag Grover over to where he was.

"Look. It's Phineas." Nico pointed at what seemed to be an opera theater.

A fat, bald man was sitting in the last row. His eyes were closed and he was covering his ears with his hands. He had a scowl on his wrinkled face.

"Opera music?" I asked Nico. "That's horrible." My mom once took me to an opera. It was the worst seven hours of my life.

Nico shrugged. "Phineas!" He called out through the barbed wire. No response. Nico snapped his fingers and everyone sitting in the theater turned around. "Phineas, come here." Nico pointed at the bald man.

Phineas hurried over quickly. Maybe he was eager to do something other than listen to opera music.

"Right here," Nico said before Phineas ran into the barbed wire. From close up, I could see that Phineas had milky white eyes.

"Well," Phineas grinned, displaying five yellow teeth, "if it isn't the son of Hades himself. And…" Phineas sniffed the air. "Percy Jackson! I'm a son of Poseidon too."

Great.

"And a satyr. Grover?"

Grover whimpered and backed away.

"My, the trouble you've caused, Percy Jackson. It's changed everything. I bet Hera is furious." Phineas nodded slowly. "On the other hand, things are going well for my patron."

"Patron?" Nico frowned.

"Never mind," Phineas said cheerfully. "Don't worry. Your life's end will be painful and cruel."

"Okay… Persephone told us to come to you for-"

"Ah, yes. To become a mortal again." Phineas scowled. "Don't look so shocked. I know these things. I know the future, past, and present."

"So how is this supposed to help Percy become mortal again?" Nico asked.

"Oh, I know of certain forgotten gods that may be able to assist you," Phineas said carefully.

"Can you tell us?" I asked hopefully. I knew the chances were slim that Phineas would willingly tell us what he knew.

"Well," said Phineas casually, "if you can bring me with you…"

"You want us to sneak you out of the Underworld?" Nico blurted out. "That's against the rules."

"Soon there will be no rules of Life and Death," Phineas warned. "If you don't bring me out, I'll be brought back to life anyways."

Nico gritted his teeth. "Hades will be furious."

"Souls have escaped before and gotten away with it," Phineas informed Nico.

Nico looked at me. I could only shrug. I didn't understand the rules of Death. "If we sneak you out, how will we know that you will tell us the truth?"

"I'll swear on the River Styx," offered Phineas.

"How can that work if he's already dead?" I whispered to Nico.

"Don't worry," said Phineas, somehow overhearing us. "I'll just be sent to Tartarus. Do we have a deal?"

Nico and I exchanged glances. "Fine. We swear on the River Styx to bring you out from the Underworld."

Phineas grinned. "And I swear to tell you all I can to help you become mortal or be sent to Tartarus."

There was a loud rumble through the wastelands and static filled the air.

"Now get me out of here."

* * *

This section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

"Annabeth?" Kier looked at me concernedly. "Are you okay?"

I blinked twice. "Yeah. I'm fine." _No, I'm really not._

Drew had somehow convinced me to go on a second date with Kier. I was still fumbling with my feelings about Percy. I swore I saw him on my first date with Kier.

"Annabeth?"

"Huh?" I looked up into his chocolate brown eyes.

"I asked you a question."

"Oh. Sorry," I muttered.

"That's ok. Where do you go to school?" asked Kier softly.

"I'm homeschooled," I said automatically without thinking too hard. Kier didn't know I was a demigod and went to Camp Half Blood. For a moment I thought I saw his eyes flash to my knife which was strapped to my side. I couldn't leave camp defenseless. Maybe he saw a flashlight or a notebook through the Mist. "How about you?"

"I go to a private school at the edge of this city," Kier responded as automatically as I had. "What are your parents like?"

"Oh, my dad's mad," I said casually. Kier raised an eyebrow. "He's a mad scientist."

"Ah. How about your mom?"

"I have a stepmom. She's great." I had a lot of family problems after running away from home. Before I came to Camp, there were a lot of monster attacks on my family. I thought they blamed me for it so I ran away. She's been nice lately. I'm not sure if she really cares for me or if she is trying to make up for her past behavior. "How about you?"

"My mom and dad are both engineers. Do you have any siblings?"

"Two younger brothers. They are the best."

"Lucky you. I'm an only child. It gets really lonely sometimes." His eyes darted to my neck. "Nice necklace."

"Wah?" I looked down at the beads that I earned every year form Camp Half Blood. "O-oh. U-um," I stuttered, not sure how to respond.

Kier reached out a hand and touched one with a maze pattern on it. The one from Daedalus's labyrinth. "Did your brothers make these for you?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the beads.

"Yes," I said, relieved to find an answer so easily.

"Do they mean anything?" asked Kier as he looked at a black bead with a green trident on it.

"No. It's just something my brothers do for fun."

Kier finally let go of the necklace and looked down at a black watch on his wrist. I craned my neck over so I could see the time as well. I left my emergency cell phone back at Camp and had no other way to tell the time. I saw a flash of gold, and it looked like the hands on the watch were spinning out of control. With a flick of his wrist, Kier hid the face of the watch from my eyes. He looked up and smiled at me.

"I have to go now," he explained. "Volunteer work."

"Oh. Okay." We said our goodbyes and Kier gave me a quick kiss.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Uh. Sure." My brain spun clumsily in my head.

He was gone before I think about what had just happened. What unnerved me the most was Kier's black wristwatch. I swear I saw the golden hands of the clock spinning rapidly. Then there was that moment where Kier had seemed to see my knife…

If I had been confused before, now all of my thoughts were being sucked away into a black hole.


	10. Mortality, Pain, and Violent Death

Disclaimer: I do not own this series

* * *

Chapter 10: Mortality, Pain, and Violent Death

* * *

This section is in Annabeth's POV.

* * *

I woke up early the next day to check on Thalia. After hastily putting on some clothes, I snuck out of my cabin. I paused every few seconds to make sure no one in my cabin woke up.

"How is she?" I whispered to Chiron once in the Big House.

"Hard to tell," Chiron frowned. "She's stopped twitching her in sleep, but she's still in a coma."

The scars on Thalia's face were starting to fade. Even so, at first glance, I sometimes still couldn't recognize her.

I sat down on a chair and rubbed my forehead. It was still unbelievable that the Hunters had disappeared. I had seen them in action before. It'd be hard to weaken such a fluid fighting force as the Hunters.

"Annabeth," Chiron said gently. "Is there something you would like to tell me?"

My mind wandered to Percy, and how I felt abandoned by his actions. And then to Kier who I had mixed feelings for, and the strange things I had seen with him. Then there was my uncertainty of even taking revenge on Percy, because I had never done anything like this before. And of course, the whole issue with the Hunters.

"No. Nothing."

"In these times, it is sometimes better to keep things to yourself, and sometimes not. I need to know if you have seen anything."

"It's just… I'm really confused."

"So are the gods. Something is going on. Something that is even making the gods uneasy."

"The Hunters disappearing?"

"No. Something worse."

"Worse than the Titans?"

"Oh yes. You see, the defeat of the Titans has aroused a great and terrible god, the mother of the Titans herself."

"Gaea?" I knew the goddess of the earth was evil. But she had been in deep slumber for so long that I had even forgotten how dangerous she was.

"The gods are worried. Hera had a plan, a dangerous plan, but it has been shattered."

"By Percy?" Percy always did have a reputation to ruin things…

"Yes. Her backup plan, we think, involved the Hunters, but Hera is refusing to talk."

"So Gaea is rising and the gods aren't doing anything about it?!"

"Zeus thinks the gods can handle this by themselves," explained Chiron. "Hera however knows that gods and demigods must work together to defeat Gaea, but Zeus is too arrogant to listen to her."

"But we have to fight together! Otherwise there is no hope."

"Unfortunately Zeus does not understand that. Gaea is bringing back many dangerous minor gods that have long been forgotten. And the Doors of Death…"

Oh boy. Nothing involving Death was good.

"They say Gaea is trying to seize it, which is not good news."

"Isn't Hades fighting back?"

"Even Hades can't match the power of Gaea. The Doors are weakening." Chiron glanced at me. "I advise you not to mention this to any other campers."

"Yes, Chiron."

"Breakfast will start soon."

"I'll be going then."

* * *

"Have you heard the news?" Kier asked me as I bit into a donut. I had once again snuck out of camp to meet Kier for lunch.

"What news?"

"You know. It's all over TV."

Like I got to watch TV at camp. Demigods had no access to any sort of electronics, even cell phones. It made it easier for monsters to find us. I had a cell phone hidden in my cabin, just in case.

"I must have missed it," I lied.

"Well a woman had a heart attack and died yesterday night," Kier informed me.

"And…?"

"And they say she came back alive."

I nearly spit out my donut. "You mean like a ghost?"

"No. I mean alive. Like back to life."

"That's not possible."

"That's what everyone's saying, but she's walking proof." Kier leaned back in his chair and cocked his head, his brown eyes staring intently into mine. "What do you think?"

"Um," I stammered. It would be easier to answer his question if he wasn't so good-looking. "I think it's insane. It must be a hoax."

"Hard to prove them wrong when the woman is talking, breathing, and walking."

"Maybe it's a clone?" I suggested weakly.

Kier laughed, his eyes sparkling. "Yeah, well something fishy is going on."

Fishy… That made me think of Percy and how he smelt after taking a swim in the lake at Camp Half Blood. Everything these days seemed to remind me of Percy.

"Hey, you never gave me your phone number."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"You know, so I can call you."

"Oh. Um." I searched my mind for an excuse. "My parents are really strict. I don't have a phone."

"Oh. That's ok. There's a new exhibition at this museum just down a block. Want to go check it out tonight?"

"Um." I didn't really want to go. I still felt like I was betraying Percy, and I kind of wanted to stay and see if Thalia… I suddenly felt a kind of strange, tickling sensation inside me. Thalia wasn't going to go anywhere. Chiron had told me that it was unlikely she would be waking up any time soon. And who cared about Percy anyways? He was the one who left me. "Sure," I answered.

Kier flashed another heart-throbbing smile. "Ok. See you at eight." A quick kiss, and then he was gone. He somehow always managed to convince me to meet him no matter how conflicted I felt about it.

There was something about this conversation that made me uneasy. I sat, finishing my donut for a long time before I realized it. Chiron had talked about the Doors of Death weakening. Could this woman who had died and came back to life be proof that Gaea was indeed wakening?

* * *

This section is in Percy's POV.

* * *

It's no fun dragging a snoring satyr. Grover kept mumbling something about kitchen pots and drooling in his sleep. He had collapsed on the spot once we had gotten out of the Underworld.

Nico had gotten us out of the Underworld and found us an empty hotel to stay in last night. The Titan attack must have scared the owner away. Nico stood guard over Phineas for a few hours and then woke me up for my turn.

It was now morning, and I stifled a yawn as Nico stirred. I still found it weird how we were able to sneak Phineas out of the Underworld. I didn't understand it completely, but Nico had briefly mentioned something about a door and bringing Bianca back.

Nico had gotten up and was now prodding Phineas. Grover lay in a furry heap in the corner of the room, still snoring heavily.

"Ow!" Phineas yowled. "Not so hard. I'm awake!" He muttered some words in Greek.

"We kept up our half of the deal, and you swore on the River Styx to keep up your half," Nico reminded the old man.

"Fine, fine," Phineas grumbled. "You didn't have to poke me so hard."

"So?" I prompted Phineas.

"Don't rush me! I'm thinking," he squawked. He scrunched up his nose and squinted his eyes. "Hmm. Ah. Yes. Of course. Iapetus."

"Iapetus?!" Nico and I both exclaimed, exchanging looks.

"Oh yes," Phineas said gleefully. "The brother of Kronos, god of mortality, pain, and violent death. He turned to me. "He's much more friendly now after you tossed him into the River Lethes." He then turned to Nico. "You were there. The poor fellow is convinced his name is Bob now, eh?"

I had almost forgotten about that. Iapetus had been fighting me, and I was losing terribly. Luckily we were right next to the River Lethes and I just dunked him in.

"He can tell you how to become mortal again," Phineas then cracked an evil grin, "though I doubt he remembers."

The River Lethes had the power to make someone forget their identity with a single drop. When I dunked Iapetus in the River Lethes, he had lost everything that he had known. There was no way of recovering his memory.

"There has to be some other way," Nico blurted.

"This is the only way," Phineas said happily. "I've kept up my half of the deal, so I'll just be going now. I have errands to run for my patron."

Nico and I reluctantly stepped aside. Phineas had did exactly what we wanted him to do, even if it wasn't what we wanted to hear.

"Well," said Nico, "Percy, you couldn't have expected it to be easy anyways."

"Yeah, but I didn't know we had to go get back the memory of a Titan that tried to kill me." Did I also mention that we had destroyed his brother, Kronos?

"Even if we do get his memory back, I doubt he'll help you," Nico said.

At that moment, Grover woke up with a snort. "What happened?" he yawned.

"We have to get a Titan his memory back."

Grover gulped and a small noise escaped his throat. It sounded like a scared baby sheep.

* * *

After eating a quick lunch, Nico, Grover, and I wandered around aimlessly.

"How are we supposed to get his memory back?" Nico asked for what seemed like the tenth time. "It's impossible…"

"Doesn't Iapethus have a son? Epimetheus?" I asked. "Creator of mankind?"

"That's Prometheus," Nico frowned. "And I don't think he'd be willing to help either." He sighed heavily. "I don't think anyone's tried to become mortal before."

"We can't give up," I said stubbornly. "I messed up everything. I have to fix this."

"You're a god," Nico said slowly.

"So?"

"Why can't you make yourself mortal again?"

Good point. "I'm a lousy god," I grumbled. "I can't even do anything. I don't even feel like a god. I have no powers."

"That's because you haven't tried using them yet. It's only been about a week. I think Hades once told me it took him a five centuries to fully master his powers."

"Great."

"Didn't you say you could do that cool disappearing thing?"

"It was just luck. I can't seem to do it again…"

There was silence and only the sound of Grover munching on silverware could be heard.

"So do we have an actual plan?" Grover spoke up.

"Find Iapethus and hope he remembers how to make me mortal?" I suggested.

"Back to the Underworld it is," Nico grinned. Of course he'd be happy in his father's domain.

"Oh boy," Grover moaned. "I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

A/N: For those of you that haven't read The Demigod Files, yes, Percy did throw Iapetus into the River Lethes. It is all in The Demigod Files, just to clear up any confusion there may be.


End file.
